


Si deus me Relinquit

by Taboop



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Dark, Torture, vampire
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-27
Updated: 2015-12-28
Packaged: 2018-05-09 17:48:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5549717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taboop/pseuds/Taboop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eventually to be rewritten, but I wanted to get this up somewhere just in case my own files somehow get messed up. </p><p>This derives a little from the 'canon' version of Nieve's past, a sort of mashing up of current and past timelines that started out as a little plot bunny that ended up growing to over 9,000 words. I'll likely add in a better summary at a later date.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The hunger ached, it gnawed and burned and twisted within her like a writhing serpent. This darkness within and around her was stifling, a too thick blanket that was cutting off her air, she needed to get out...to hunt and to chase. Pink tinged saliva dripped from the bound bosmer's lips, having bitten her tongue through her gag, the taste of her own blood sent a shudder down her spine. It. Was. Not. ENOUGH.  
"It's for your own good, pet" Sirius had said as he stuffed the rag into her snapping jaws before tying another longer piece around her head and over her mouth. "A blood starved vampire is nothing to sniff at, we can't have you going on a rampage and drawing attention here. So we have to keep that pretty mouth locked away until I need it, hm?"  
Where she in a better state of mind, Nieve would have admitted that her starvation was also her own fault. It had been months now since her master had turned her, but the feeding had never gotten easier. Sirius had at least the courtesy of bringing her already dead meals, killing the poor bastards out of her sight before dropping the corpse before her like a sack of potatoes. She tried not to think about who they were, what the corpse's name had been, if someone would miss them. The thoughts only served to torture her already fragile conscience, it didn't matter who they were before, best to keep them a faceless cadaver in the dark.  
Pressing her face against the cold bars of her prison, Nieve felt the rusted metal scrape against her cheek and broke out of her thirst fueled reverie as the sound of rough swearing could be heard from the main cavern, her master was back and apparently not alone. She steeled herself for the inevitable sound of a strangled screech and then silence, but instead was treated to rapidly approaching footsteps, Sirius was obviously pissed off at something...or someone. Instinctively, the pale bosmer flinched back as Sirius approached her cage, she hadn't done anything to anger him had she? Bowing her head low, thoughts of what could have her master so frustrated bounced around behind her reddened eyes. Then she caught the scent, it flecked his clothing and cheeks. Blood.  
"Mphshter...?" Her words were muffled by the gag, but Sirius had heard her well enough.

"Yes, pet?" The vampiric breton opened the cage door with a tired sigh, swinging the key around on finger as he observed her. Fragile little thing, she was, he could so easily crush her if he wished. Hooking a finger underneath her gag, he drew the outer tie over her head and watched as she spat out the rag within her work and began working the feeling back into her jaw. "I'm hungry"  
A wicked grin spread across Sirius's face, sharp teeth bared in a predatory show of ivory. "Well, my lovely little bitch, have I got a surprise for you" Pulling her up by her collar, Sirius began leading his captive back through the tunnel he had stepped through minutes earlier. "I've noticed you still get squeamish around live prey, and the fact is that I do not have the time or energy to keep babying you by spoon feeding your meals to you" Even as the blood scent grew tantalizingly closer, Nieve felt her heart drop and a dull panic begin in her gut. No, no please no, no nononono. She didn't have the heart to kill anyone, she couldn't do it, no no no. This is why he hadn't been feeding her, waiting until she was ready to tear something...someone apart, he wanted to turn her loose on some poor traveler.  
Daring to dig her heels into the ground, Nieve babbled whatever came to her mind, anything to slow the march towards what would be surely be the doom of her sanity.  
"I appreciate it, Master, I truly do but surely you're much better at this"  
"I'm feeling sick, may I go back to my cage and rest?"  
"Not yet, please, give me time, I can't do this!"  
"PLEASE don't make me kill someone!"

Fingers dug into her scalp, gathering her hair in a harsh grip that made her eyes water in pain. As they entered the roomy main cavern, the scent of smoke and blood intermingled deliciously. "It was not a request, little bitch" Sirius growled in her ear, even though it was obvious he was frustrated, there was a glint of dark amusement in his voice. "But since you know I love you and your damned naiveté, you don't even have to drain all the blood, I could use a new thrall. Maybe I can use him for target practice as well"  
While the offer of mercy caused her tensed shoulders to sag slightly in relief, the thought of pulling someone else into this life made her feel ill. Outlined by oily light from the few braziers that sat scattered at the corners of the cave, a shuddering form lay curled on the blood stained floor. The image sent a jolt of pained familiarity through Nieve, hadn't she been in that same exact position before? Scared and hurt, sensing the hungry creatures in the dark. Swallowing thickly, she turned her gaze back to Sirius, who seemed to be losing patience with her hesitation.  
"It's now or never, little bitch. Either feed or watch me kill him myself. And I promise you, I'll make quite a show of it" That got her feet moving, her master was a twisted man with an even more twisted imagination, whatever he had in mind was not something she wanted to witness. Approaching the victim, she could see that he was bruised and cut in many places. Many of the slices in his skin seemed light enough to both draw blood and hurt but not cause excess damage, they were meticulous and deliberate , Sirius had taken his time with this one.  
He'd done it on purpose, torn up the prey...person, no, it was an altmer. Made the blood run to tantalize her into finishing the job for him. Baring her fangs against a growl, Nieve could practically feel the pulse of blood in the body before her, she could end his suffering...she could rip his throat out and savor the crimson liquid that would fall onto her tongue. Unconsciously leaning forwards, lips twitching as her mind and body conflicted and wrestled over control, Nieve flinched as she met the suddenly open eyes of her meal.  
"Please don't do this...I don't want to die, please?"

Behind her, Sirius snorted and was surely rolling his eyes, but a strangled whine exited her throat. She didn't want to hurt anyone, and now that he'd spoken to her...oh gods it had only made it worse.  
""I'm so sorry" She didn't mean for it to sound like a snarl, but it did, and her heart sank as she watched him flinch again. Nieve opened her mouth again to speak some sort of apology, but felt a the weight of a boot on her back shove her forwards and into the now shrieking victim's chest. Blood, it was so close, her eyes narrowed as she watched a trail of the ruby liquid trail down the throat of her prey. Somewhere inside of her, a tiny voice screamed for her to stop as she clamped her jaws onto his neck, fangs breaking skin as her tongue moved to lap up what spilled from the newest gash in greedy strokes. Tears stung at the corners of her eyes, but it was too late to stop herself, she felt as though would die here and now if she stopped, she had been so hungry.  
"Dove, you're going to kill him" It was more of an observation, as though Sirius was speaking about the weather and not a matter of someone's life or death. He had to admit, the show had been fun if not drawn out at times, but he had been serious about needing a new blood thrall, going out to find someone else less dead would definitely be bothersome after just getting back.  
Mercifully, Nieve felt the tugging at her collar, Sirius's will causing her to reluctantly pull away. The haze of bloodlust that had clouded her mind slowly began to lift, leaving an icy cold horror in its wake. Somewhere between her blocking him out and fading back into reality, the ripped up altmer had fainted, his head lolling to the side and showing off the new fanged imprint on his neck. Nieve shifted to support him and keep him from falling over, it was the least she could do. "I'm truly, truly sorry" Her voice was a tight squeak, knowing he likely couldn't hear her, but it made her feel better to just say the words.  
"Right, well as heartwarming this is, I have things to take care of" Sirius stepped forwards, shoving Nieve aside with a firm kick, smirking at the surprised exhale of breath. Pussies, the both of them. Running a hand through his dark hair, the breton clucked his tongue in thought. He had some restraints left over from Nieve's 'breaking in' period, they were rusted and jagged, meant to hurt the wearer. Shrugging to himself, Sirius glanced over to where the aforementioned bosmer was picking herself up. "Be a good girl and go fetch your old chains, you know where they are"

Frowning inwardly, Nieve simply nodded and scurried back through the dark passage. She really did feel sick this time, stomach knotting in shame at her actions. The drawer that her master kept most of his...'toys' in was not locked as per usual, he liked to have them within easy grabbing range if he was feeling particularly spirited. The sharp tang of blood hit her nose as she used her teeth to pry open the container, the smell now only turned her stomach even more, most of the blood here was her own. Silently lamenting the bindings on her arms, she carefully nosed through the various cutting tools and chains, stopping every now and then to attempt to blow a lock of silvery hair out of her eyes. She had nicked her tongue and lips a few times, but she had finally managed to pull the desired items out of the drawer. From the main room, she heard Sirius give a loud growl of impatience and hurried along, guilty conscience weighing down her steps.


	2. Chapter Two

His sleep had been restless and without dreams, only brief flashes of emotion in the timeless darkness, fear and pain not being the least of them. Clenching already shut eyelids together tighter, it took the altmer a moment to realize that his senses were returning. With them came blinding pain that set his nerves alight, he could feel the many cuts and slashes that had been dug into his skin as one pulsing and angry wound. Struggling forwards with a ragged wheeze, his breath caught in his throat as an unseen hand forced him to lie back down. 

"You've lost quite a bit of blood, try not to move around so much" The voice was almost a whisper, but it was obviously feminine.  
Amber eyes cracked open in confusion, then widened in panic. Oh gods it was so dark...but his eyes were open, was he blind? Did someone blind him? Struggling again with renewed vigor, he lashed out blindly and felt his hand smack against something soft in the gloom. Grasping desperately onto whatever it was, he licked his suddenly dry lips and rasped out the first thing that came to his mind "Where am I?" He had not been expecting the light slap in reply, accompanied by a muffled squeak. Even if it didn't hurt, he still withdrew his hand hastily. "H-hey look I didn't mean to-""Keep your hands to yourself!" There was a short pause before she spoke again, softer and apologetically "Please. I'm sorry about hitting you...and um..." There was a shuffling and rattling of chains, followed by the sensation of something being pulled from his head. A blindfold, a bloodstained blindfold, thank the divines that it was that and not his vision altogether. Taking a few moments, he focused on letting his sight adjust to the dim light in the room, concentrating on the blurry form that was staring down at him. At first he had assumed that she had been wearing pale armor or clothes, but when his vision finally focused there was a moment of mutual silence and embarrassment. She looked nearly as bad as he felt, bruises in all the wrong places and darkened blood splashed across her breasts, whether it was hers or not he couldn't tell. What he could tell was that other than various restraints that crisscrossed her form, the pale female that kneeled next to him was naked. Shackled hands pressed against her chest with a disgruntled look, ah, so that was why she slapped him.  
"Master asked me to tend to your wounds, I didn't mean to wake you" Silvery brows raised in a concerned expression "How are you feeling?" How was he feeling? Like he'd just tried wrestling a damned troll, that was how he felt! Averting his gaze with a weak grunt in response, he tried to recall what had happened before he woke up. Something about a fight with a dark haired man, a breton with glowing red eyes, a vampire? Wait. Snapping his head around to face the chained female again, he studied her eyes, tensing at the fiery color of them. 

"You! You bloody bit me!" Maybe he wasn't in a position to be yelling at others, and admittedly it was more of a hoarse whining, but he felt the foggy memories of the day before rushing back now. "No no no. I can't be here, this can't be happening" Moving to grip his head between his hands, the altmer let out a strained laugh. "Is this where you tell me this is all a joke and I was actually at some crazy party? Please? It'd make me feel a lot better about the situation" From the corner of his eyes, he could see that his fellow prisoner was only giving him a thoughtful if not sad look. Magic! He'd try magic. Looking down at his hands, he tried to will his magicka to cooperate, a cold sweat beginning to bead his brow when nothing happened.  
"It's the collar" He ignored her and tried again "It cuts off your magicka supply, I think it actually eats it...absorbs it" Her voice was soft with more unspoken apologies, a small frown bending her lips. "Quiet, I'm trying to concentrate" He growled in reply, but his hands had started shaking, was this how he was going to die? In some divines forsaken cave in the middle of nowhere?  
"You should stop, you're going to strain yourself" A cold hand touched his shoulder hesitantly, causing him to shudder and draw away, glaring at the vampire. "Could you just please calm down? You're going to open your wounds" Her words had a bit more strength to them now, showing her frustration. With one final attempt to summon something, anything, he gave up and slumped back with a whine. Taking this as a sign of compliance, the pale vampire stood and made her way over to a bucket that had once held warm water, but by now had gone lukewarm. "If I had access to my magic, I'd heal you with that. I'm sorry if this hurts, but I'm going to need to use soap and water to clean out the cuts"  
There had been no shortage of glares and hissing during the cleaning of his injuries, the soapy water stung harshly against the still raw flesh that now began to weep small trickles of blood again. He had half expected her to go mad at the sight of it, but she only stiffly patted it away, movements obviously strained. The bandages came out next and he huffed "Really, you can't even spare a healing potion? Ugh, these are going to scar so badly" That damned frown again, the one that seemed to practically ooze pity. "You know if it really bothers you that much, you should let me go, just tell your uh" He made a face "Master that I slipped out of my restraints and ran o-" "He'd kill me" "Really?" "Yes"  
Leaning forwards to sit up, he mumbled a quiet thanks as she reached out to help him. "And here I thought you two were just into some extreme kink, so this guy is serious?" The vampire said nothing, only looking away dejectedly. "Ah, okay sorry, sore spot there. Uhhh" He offered an open palmed shrug "What's your name?" "Nieve" "Unusual, but not unpleasant" Rolling the name over on his tongue, something about it seemed so foreign. Her pointed ears didn't suggest she was a purely human race and her size was miniscule to say the least, but she certainly wasn't a breton, her face was too angular and her eyes carried the tell tale almond shape of a more directly elvish lineage. "Uh, don't take this the wrong way but...what are you?" That earned him an airy laugh, the sound almost too normal to come from such a wretched creature. "I'm a bosmer, it's common for people to be confused because of my appearance. You know how sometimes you might see a white squirrel or deer? It's something like that. And now it's only fair you tell me your name, isn't it?" "Rumarin, don't ask me what it means, because I don't know"  
"Up and at em', I see" A gravelly voice barked jovially behind them, followed by a tugging sensation at their necks. Nieve seemed to go limp, allowing herself to lean forwards in an almost bowing position. The collars, it clicked in his mind, they were the catalyst to this as well? The more he resisted the more force was applied to his neck, the best he could describe it as would be a muscle cramp that wound tighter and tighter every passing second. A real weight was then applied to his neck, hard leather and metal pushing him to the ground as Sirius dug his boot into Rumarin's nape. "Better stay down if you know what's good for you, goldy. See the other bitch? She knows how to treat her betters, so..." He dug his heel in harder "Fucking. Stay. Down" The taste of wet stone and grit met his lips as the elf felt his face press into the ground, he definitely did not like this breton, who was currently giving him a grin that would have been pleasant if not for the whole trying to snap his neck thing.  
"While you two were chatting, I've been taking inventory, and I have good news for you" Removing his boot from the altmer's neck, Sirius crouched down in front of him with a smirk. "You get to keep those rusty little chains indefinitely, because most everything else I have has been custom fitted for the little pale slut over there"  
"Master, if I may speak" From beside him, Nieve was speaking now.

Sirius curled his lip, appearing to consider her request before nodding in assent.  
"It would be a bad idea to keep those chains on him, they aren't meant for the long term" She could be heard shuffling nervously, her voice was slow and deliberate as if she were choosing her words carefully. "The weathered material could cause infection and excess wounds, it would-" The pause was so brief that one might not have noticed it "It could taint the blood, and kill him far too early than you'd want" Well, it wasn't all bullshit, but why go out of her way to help him? Twisting his head around to peer at Nieve, a pang of sympathy hit as her trembling and clasped hands came into view.  
"Is that so?" The breton crossed his arms moodily while turning his head to face Rumarin, he gave a sudden sharp laugh "Those jagged old things aren't that uncomfortable are they, goldy? It's only a little blood and rust, yeah? Tell me, why should I accept the slut's proposal?" Unconsciously drawing his face into a look of disgust at the derogatory nicknames, the first words out of his mouth made even him cringe. "Because she asked nicely?" Sirius's face seemed to go blank for a moment before brows lifted high on his pale forehead in numb disbelief. The master vampire's laughter was loud and cruel when it came, echoing throughout the cavern like a chorus of snarling demons. Palm pressed against his forehead in mirth, Sirius shook his head slowly "You stupid fucking cunt, I would kill you where you kneeled if I didn't have such a wonderful sense of humor. Because she asked nicely? My pet doesn't ask, she begs, thank you by the way for reminding me"  
Whirling on the quiet bosmer, her master's fingers quickly laced over her throat and roughly dragged her upwards into a standing position. One hand moved from her throat to grasp her frost colored hair in a twisting grip, lifting her feet from the ground and dangling her like a limp doll. "Do go on my dear, you know how I love to hear you cry" Sirius's voice lilted in a sing-song way, obviously enjoying the pained look in her eyes "Go on, beg on the stranger's behalf. If you do, I'll throw in a bonus, you can have all of his punishments for his first week, since I can tell you are in an oh so generous mood" A cold shiver ran down Rumarin's spine, damn it all, he really needed to learn to keep his mouth shut. As much as the thought of whatever the bastard had in store for him terrified him, letting this already beaten girl take the blame didn't feel right. "You don't have to do this" The words were too quiet, his own voice betraying him and forcing him back into silence.

"Please help him, Master, I-" The hold on her hair tightened causing her to inhale sharply "I'm begging you, please" The hand around her throat clenched this time, digging nails in and drawing dark blood. "Not good enough, try again" Nieve released a pained groan, feet beginning to scramble for purchase but finding none. "Please consider, master" Sirius quirked a brow, waiting for her to continue "I'm a lowly slave, I have no right to be making demands. But I plead with you, please...just this once" Her voice was strained, almost broken and she struggled to keep eye contact with Sirius, veins bulging in her neck s he gave her throat one last squeeze before letting her drop back to the floor.  
"I'll consider your suggestion" Leaning down, he brushed the blood on his fingers off on the pale skin of Nieve's side, making sure to press hard on a dark bruise over her ribs. "I bet you feel like a real hero, ey prettyboy? Letting this little bitch stick her neck out for you, it's sad really" Straightening back up, Sirius aimed at kick at Rumarin's side, whistling at the pained yell "Still nothing to say? Alrighty then. I have to say I'm surprised, I'm almost disappointed that you haven't spouted some garbage about elven supremacy or some bullshit like that. How ironic, isn't it? The breton now has the reigns" After checking the shackles of his two prisoners, Sirius gave a stretch and yawned "Well, I'm done playing for now, be good little kiddies and don't do anything you'll regret"  
"Why in oblivion did you do that?" Once the footsteps had faded, the words spilled out bitterly. "Don't you have any sense of self preservation?" The weak chuckle in reply caused Rumarin to clench his fists, none of this was funny, it was all fucking terrible. "I guess not, I was just trying to protect you" Shuffling around to face her again, the altmer glared "Why? You don't even know me-" "Is someone waiting for you?" He raised a brow "What?" Nieve bit her lip as she sat up slowly, chained hands lightly touching her bruised throat "If you escaped, is there someone out there you could go back to?" A tired sigh left him, where was she going with this? "Yes, I suppose there is, what about it?" Nieve flashed a bittersweet smile "That is exactly why, because you have something to go back to, and I don't" Oh great, that didn't make him feel any better. So she was saying his life was worth more than hers, how depressingly fatalistic. Silence reigned for a long time, interrupted only when someone grumbled in pain or coughed.  
"Nieve?"  
"Mhm?"  
"I'm hungry, you don't happen to have anything that isn't bloody bones lying around, do you?"  
"No, I'm sorry, I could try asking-"  
"No"


	3. Chapter Three

Sirius had been, well, serious about the repercussions of her helping out the newest prisoner, she had known what was she getting into when she offered to take the damage for both of them. That didn't make her body hurt any less when her flesh was broken and openly wept blackish blood over the ground and her restraints, she bit her tongue and accepted it all, allowing her mind to close down and wander to anywhere but where she was. Nieve did bemoan that all of the abuse was deliberately within sight or hearing distance of Rumarin, it was obvious he felt terrible about letting her defend him. He didn't need to see what Sirius did, but there was little that could be done to stop it.  
Currently there was a blade resting over her belly, just above her navel with the tip poised to sink into her gut. He wouldn't kill her, Nieve provided too many comforts without complaint for her master to just throw her away for a laugh, but Sirius had no qualms about 'almost' killing her with a flair. The sadistic breton's body was relaxed against hers, holding her in place on his lap as he toyed with the dagger, making small and exploratory cuts over her stomach. "Where should I stick her next, boy? She's going through all this for your sake, why not interact a little? I'm starting to think you're not enjoying the show" He waved the blade at the nauseous looking altmer "Surely this is what you wanted? You didn't speak up to say otherwise. Ooohhhh, or maybe you're just a coward? Nice little plot twist there" Cold metal pressed against her collarbone now as her master continued his idle chatter, but she wasn't listening, focusing instead on a strand of Sirius's dark hair that fell over her face.  
Maybe if she'd met him under different circumstances, Nieve could call Sirius handsome, as it stood though the sight of him sent a less than pleasant chill throughout her soul. This man had taken so much from her, and yet he was all she had now, there was nothing she could go back to and no one was waiting for her. She hadn't lied to the other elf, this blood and pain was all she had to look forwards to. When and if she managed to get him his freedom, it would probably be the last thing she did, Sirius did not like being tricked. Closing her eyes, Nieve took a moment to steel herself before allowing her mind to fade back to reality. New cuts had been made while she'd phased out, many of them were light little things that barely bled but stung fiercely. It seemed that Sirius had settled into a steady commentary as well, petting the top of her head like a dog as he spoke.

"-and that's what happened to the last would be rescuer that stumbled into here. You want to know that best part? She didn't even seem fazed by it, the little dove bitch knew he was fucked from the start" She remembered that, an argonian adventurer had stumbled into the cave while looking for loot and spotted her. He was a friendly beast and seemed genuinely concerned, so concerned he didn't see Sirius slide behind him and sink a blade through his chest. Nieve wished she could have at least learned his name, he didn't deserve to die nameless in the dark.  
"You're horrible" She tensed at the words, turning her head in Rumarin's direction with a firm shake, did he have a death wish? She was amazed that Sirius had kept up his side of the bargain at all, pissing him off was not in anyone's best interest. The vampire's grip tightened as he tsked at the altmer, twirling the dagger lazily as he replied. "You wound me, I like to think myself a fair man. I've kept my word have I not? But I'm also not the most patient man, don't test me elf, I'm not sure if you'd live to regret it" Shoving Nieve from his lap, Sirius stood and made to wipe her blood from his pants, only succeeding in smearing it further. "I have preparations to make, we're expecting company soon. Nieve, feed your pet, or feed on him, I don't care but whatever you do I want you to make sure to remind him where his place is or I'll do it for you"  
Waiting for Sirius to leave the room before speaking, Nieve whirled on the other captive. "Are you...are you daft? Why can't you just be quiet for once" She'd meant to sound angry, she'd tried but it only came out sounding more exasperated than anything "You keep undoing all of my work and it's" Clumsily crossing her arms as best she could with her shackles, the bosmer turned away with a huff "It's rude" A mirthless snort was her reply, the bridge of her nose crinkled in frustration. "If you don't mind, could you yell at me after I've eaten? I'll probably cry a lot less at your cruelty on a full stomach" Snark aside, she knew he must have been hungry. "Right, let me see what master set aside, I can't really vouch for the quality unfortunately"  
The previous night, Sirius had set up barebones care station of sorts. A few glass bottles full of water and cure disease potions in a bucket to keep the blood supply flowing along with a small pouch filled with pilfered food items, she hadn't asked Sirius where he'd gotten the pack, but the flecks on blood on it suggested a story she knew all too well. Reaching into the bag her fingertips brushed the surface of a bruised apple, which upon further inspection was the most edible thing available. "That looked like it hurt" Peering over her shoulder with a quick and sad smile, Nieve pulled the apple from the bag and lifted it into his view with a shrug "It's the best I could find, sorry" Gold eyes narrowed at her "Hey don't ignore me" He accepted the apple pressed into his hands nonetheless, turning it over with a grumble before biting into it "How can you be so calm when he hurts you like that? Just seeing it makes me cringe..." Leaning against the wall behind her, Nieve watched Rumarin in silence as he ate. Could she remember what apples tasted like? It had been awhile since she'd last tasted fruit, but not a matter of years, yet the memory still eluded her.  
"If I concentrate hard enough, I can ignore it, fade out for a bit" She finally replied, smiling lightly at the confused look that split his face "It takes practice, hopefully you won't be here long enough to need to learn" That sounded actually kind of sinister on second thought, she shifted in place "Not that I'm expecting you to die, I just mean that-" "Yeah, yeah I get it. Plus I think if you wanted to kill me, you'd have done it by now" Nieve sighed in relief, at least he wasn't taking every twitch or breath as a sign of her impending attack anymore. "That first night, I really didn't mean to go for your throat like that. Master had me tied up for awhile before that to starve me of blood, if not for that I wouldn't have tried to hurt you at all. I don't want to hurt anyone" Shame still burned in her for letting her thirst drive her actions, what was done was done and there was nothing she could say or do to take it back. 

"Are you this apologetic with all your meals?" The words stung, but she made no outward sign of hurt. Of course he would assume that she'd have been used to live feedings and not just Sirius's already chilling leftovers, she tilted her head down so that she didn't have to meet the face of her fellow captive. "It's not like that, you're the first one he brought in that was still alive. He did it to mess with me. Now can we please change the subject? You heard Master mention company coming? I need you to listen to me this time when I say this" Reluctantly meeting his eyes, she licked her lips nervously "Master likes to entertain guests, who are very likely fellow vampires, who are very likely going to be feeding on you. I'm going to try and keep the attention off of you as best I can, but for the love of all that is merciful and divine when addressed just smile and nod. If you embarrass Master in front of others then there's nothing I can do to protect you"  
"I still don't get why you're doing all of this, vampires aren't supposed to be friendly and self sacrificing creatures, you're ruining countless years of reputation buildup, you know. But since you asked so nicely, fine, I'll play the good little blood keg and even offer service with a smile" A pause "Well maybe not a smile, would a grimace work?" Nieve laughed despite herself, her mouth turning up in a tense half grin "It'll have to do, just leave the wisecracks behind for this one" It was obvious the joking was to calm his own nerves just as much as hers, to keep the air from getting too heavy will gloom. "You don't think they'd appreciate it? A shame, you'd think they had all the humor sucked out of them" It took her a moment, longer than it should have taken, but when the damned joke struck home she pressed her face to her knees with a snort. Was he serious? No, the problem was the exact opposite, but she was grateful.  
"Just be careful, I'd hate for all this work to be for nothing when someone kills you for making leech puns"  
"Same goes for you, you've been hurt enough on my account"


	4. Chapter Four

Only an hour or so had passed since Sirius's warning when movement from the front entrance could be heard, the sound of boots scraping stone and murmured voices. Nieve had been allowed for most of the time waiting to stay near her fellow captive while Sirius prepared for his meeting. The quiet conversation between Rumarin and Nieve faded as two figures entered the darkness of the cavern, the smoky firelight outlining them in hard orange lines. From what the altmer could tell in the gloom, one had the stony colored skin of a dunmer, the harsh lines creasing his scarred face in an unforgiving expression as his pale yellow eyes fell over the pair, lingering longer over the snowy female. Frowning inwardly, Rumarin pressed closer to Nieve, causing her to grunt in warning at the defiant act. The dunmer didn't seem to notice or care, the only indication that he was aware of the action was a small twitch of the lips as though he wasn't sure whether or not to smirk.  
"How quaint, Sirius is keeping them in pairs now. Hmph, well Sahale it looks like you have another playmate. Try not to break anything while I'm away" The voice was stiff and formal, almost lacking any sort of inflection other than a slight dunmeri aftertaste to the words. Moving closer so that he stood before them, the dunmer tugged the leash that was twisted in his fingers, pulling the other figure behind him forwards. The poor soul on the other end of the leash did not need much beckoning, in a tan and red flash, the slave was upon Nieve and holding her in a nearly bone crushing hug as his master breezed past them.  
"Niieeevveee~ Mama it's so good to see you!" The Redguard was a lanky thing, seeming not to have fully grown into his own body yet. He couldn't have been no older than nineteen, but already his body was marked was scars and bruises not unlike Nieve's. Gold eyes narrowed now as Rumarin observed Sahale, the little pervert had his face pressed into the pale flesh of Nieve's breasts, blubbering more incomprehensible gibberish and calling her 'Mama' for some gods damned reason. "A friend of yours?" He couldn't keep the disgust out of his voice, even if he wanted to he couldn't have directed to distaste at Nieve herself, so that meant Sahale received the brunt of his glaring. It was none of his business, but the boldly unapologetic nature of the act made a twinge of protectiveness jolt through him. Maybe he couldn't and shouldn't take on Sirius, but the little parasite drooling all over her chest seemed like almost as much of a pushover as himself. 

Pulling his face from the valley of the petite bosmer's chest, Sahale finally made note of the other male and offered a wide grin in response. "You betcha, I'm Mama's best friend, Sahale" The redguard's dark brown eyes met his own with an impish glint as he seemed to seize up the raggedy altmer. Darting a hand forwards, Sahale held it out in an invitation to shake. "So who are you? I didn't know Master Sirius kept males"  
Leaning back from the offered hand, Rumarin cast a suspicious glower at Sahale. "Why aren't your hands tied like ours?"  
Nieve finally spoke up, raising her shackled hands to pet the top of Sahale's head affectionately. "Sahale is more of an indentured servant than a slave, he is loyal to Master Kano, I don't think he'll run off" Sahale merely nodded in response, leaning into the bosmer's light touch. "Has he been taking care of you? Last time you were here there were some rather nasty wounds on your back" The more he watched the odd boy, the more Rumarin realized that his initial assessment may have been off, he definitely was not as sinister as he had initially thought.  
"Pfft, I call biased treatment. Don't bring your freedom in here if you don't have enough to share" Bitterness dripped from the words, albeit halfheartedly, the two before him seemed so thoroughly...beaten in. His stomach cringed in upon itself, he had to get out of here before he mirrored that look. He had to think of his escape as when, not if. When Nieve helps him find a way out of here or if he found a way himself, it would only be fair to bring her with him. In the short time he'd known her, she'd already gone through so much on his behalf that the thought of leaving her behind made him preemptively hate himself. Well, more than he hated himself already, he'd just bitten his tongue as Sirius carved into her flesh while she begged him with her eyes to just stay quiet. Damn her. Damn him.  
"Little Bitch, our good friend Kano requests your presence" Sirius's voice caused all three to snap to attention in their own various ways, Nieve pressing herself into the ground, Sahale simply bowing his head to touch the stone floor and Rumarin simply freezing in place before the steady cramping in his neck caused him to lean forwards. Sahale seemed to brighten and wriggled forwards before Sirius kicked him back "Not you, Shitface. You know damn well who I'm talking to" Letting his burning gaze fall onto Nieve, Sirius beckoned her with a gloved hand. Without saying a word she stood and followed her master, leaving behind two grim faced friends. Sahale on second glance though, seemed more frustrated than worried as he watched Nieve and Sirius leave. Turning his head to face the redguard, Rumarin was reluctant to speak up, but he had to ask. "What does this Kano lad want with her?" A cold feeling had began to collect in his gut, making him feel an almost numb calmness.

Sahale leaned back against a wall, crossing his arms poutily as he responded. "Mama is lucky that Master Kano likes her so much, he always speaks so highly of her" There was a note of jealousy in the young man's voice that felt wrong, was his head really that far buried in the sand that he was treating the situation like some harmless love triangle? Exhaling slowly and trying to keep the growl out of his voice, Rumarin tried again. "But do you know what he-" From the room beyond there was a pained shriek, the noise was brief and sounded more surprised than truly agonized. Kano's voice could be heard right after, sounded exasperated and slightly strained.  
"Sirius, if you can't play nice then you can sit on the other side of the room" This was followed by a hearty laugh from Sirius, the sound of his voice sending a shudder through the elf. "When have I ever played nice, Kano? I was just adding a little color, gods know she could use it" Mercifully the voices quieted back down to an ambiguous murmur, leaving the duo in relative silence again. Until Sahale spoke up again, grating on already frayed nerves. "Master Kano pays Master Sirius for Mama's body when we visit, on a few occasions he's even made offers to outright buy her but Master Sirius always says no. I'd like it if Mama lived with me..." The sound that the other male made startled Sahale, something like the noise one makes when punched in the stomach, a sort of muted mix between snarling and whining. "You're disgusting...all of you, if you really cared for Nieve then you wouldn't want her to stay locked up, I don't know how you can claim to be her friend when you think like that" Gold burned into brown, the two holding each other's gaze evenly.  
"Do you know why I call her 'Mama'?" The redguard replied at length, his voice uncharacteristically calm as the question left his lips, instead of waiting for the response, he continued on. "I can't remember my real mother, I've been with Master Kano since I was little. Most everyone treats me as an afterthought, even other servants, I am my master's shadow and I accept this...but Mama...Nieve, she's genuine" Sahale looked away from Rumarin, playing with a tear on the sleeve of his dark red robes. "When I first saw her, I thought she was going to die quickly like Master Sirius's other thralls, he isn't the most patient when others don't give him what he wants. But Mama is always so patient with everyone, even me. One day when me and Master Kano came to visit Master Sirius, I wasn't been feeling well. She had barely spoken to me before that day, I guess because she was still getting used to things, but she approached me, felt my forehead and asked if I was feeling okay" 

"I don't see what this has to do with anything" The response was weak, Rumarin knew Sahale would continue his speech and was even thankful for it. It gave him something to concentrate on, so that he could try to ignore the muffled sounds from the room down the dark tunnel. Sahale snorted "I'm getting to that, good storytelling takes time. Anyways as I was saying. It really came as a shock that she'd even spoke to me, I'd thought that Master Sirius had broken her completely. But she just smiled and let me rest against her while we waited for our Masters to finish speaking. I remember falling asleep with her singing to me" Sahale gave a small smile at the memory "When I woke up, I guess I was a little disorientated, because I called her Mama, but she didn't correct me. It kind of stuck after that, she's the closest thing I've got to family. Mama really does care about me and I care about her, so..." The young man glared harshly now, brows furrowed in distaste. "Don't you dare say I don't care about her"  
Silence reigned for a number of minutes, much to Rumarin's discomfort, he didn't want to hear what was happening out of sight. Standing as tall as his shackles would allow, he took a step towards Sahale with a desperate look on his face. "Alright, look then, if you really mean what you just said then I have something to ask" Peering over his shoulder, there was a flicker on nervousness across his features as he searched the shadows for any spying eyes or ears. "Nieve is looking for a way to get me out of here, to get me free, and right now we don't have any ideas that don't end in one or both of us getting killed" Keeping his voice down to a low whisper, Rumarin searched Sahale's face tensely, trying to gauge his reaction. The redguard's expression was stony but he lifted a brow as if in encouragement to continue, his own shoulders tensing slightly at the dangerous subject. 

"You'd know better than I what kind of horrifying things Sirius does when he's in a mood, which is always. When I get out-"  
"If" Sahale offered lamely, the interjection wasn't spiteful but carried a more bittersweet tone to it, almost wistful.  
"When" Now was not the time to second guess himself or Nieve, he couldn't afford to let himself fall into hopelessness just yet. "When I get out I want to try and bring her with me, she deserves to get out of here even more than I do" That caused Sahale to flinch, shoulders now fully drawn up in anxiety. "Augh, damn it this is getting too complicated...we could try and break you out too-" "I'm fine where I am" Disgust twisted the elf's face before he bushed the feeling away, fine by him, let the fool rot away in the dark, that made things easier. "We need your help Sahale, she needs your help, and I really want to see sunlight up close again"  
Going back to fidgeting with his sleeves, Sahale's face held a conflicted expression. "I...I can't, I don't want you to take Mama away. I don't want her to leave, but I won't tell about your plans. Just know that you're probably going to get her killed and I'm going to hate you for it" Rumarin couldn't say he was surprised, disappointed in Sahale's refusal to help but not surprised in the least. Sliding back down to sit cross legged, he kept his line of sight away from the other male. This time the silence was longer and darker, accented only by the clinking of chains and the occasional muted grumble. The sound of a metal door being slammed stirred the two after an unknown amount of time, both had been lost in their thoughts and the sudden noise caused the two to flinch. Sahale straightened up first, catching sight of the two approaching vampires and appearing to almost relax at the sight of Kano.

"I'll make a note when I return home to put in an order for that blade you wanted" The dunmer droned out to Sirius, his lack of emotion just as disconcerting as it had been before. "As if you didn't have enough, but I suppose I owe you" Sirius merely rolled his shoulders, his trademark sadistic smirk tugging at the edge of his mouth as the pair stopped in front of the two thralls. "Well it's been fun, but looks like playtime is over. Kano, why don't you sample the newest thrall before you go? The Bitch has been taking care of him when she thinks I'm not looking, he should be healthy enough to spare some blood" Pressing his lips into a tight line, Rumarin remembered his promise to Nieve. It made sense not wanting to piss off someone who could and would willingly use you as an anatomy model, Sirius obviously knew what he was doing when he handled blades. Relief shot through him when Kano responded in the negative, claiming that he had to make his way back to his home as soon as possible.  
Before Kano and Sahale left, the redguard shot him one last meaningful look, dark brown eyes holding a mixture of irritation and hope. Something dark was there too, a promise unspoken.  
If you fuck this up, and Sirius doesn't get to you first...  
He wouldn't blame him.


End file.
